Christina Gray returned to the CIF State Track and Field Championships, but said she had to overcome some nervous moments.

“Going into state, I was very nervous,” she said. “I wasn’t as confident as I had been for the past few years. The competition was higher and I hadn’t been performing well due to injuries, so I was kind of nervous and I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it. But I kept my faith in myself and God and it allowed me to perform well.”

Gray proved up for the challenge, winning L.A. City Section titles in the 100 and 200 and anchoring the 4x100 relay team to a City crown.

Fast forward to the state championships, where Gray recorded a pair of third-place finishes in the 100 and 200 and helped the relay team finish fifth.

In the prelims on Friday, Gray found her confidence, posting personal bests in both the 100 (11.47 seconds) and 200 (23.71) to qualify for the finals.

“I gained more confidence after my 100 ... I was nervous I wasn’t going to run a good enough time to get into the final,” she said. “I ended up running a PR, so I was happy about that and in my 200, I was less nervous because my body was feeling better, it was feeling better than it had all season, so I was excited about that. I was surprised that I PR’d my first 100.”

Gray followed up Friday with an 11.59 in the 100 to finish third and a 23.71 in the 200, to also finish third.

“I wasn’t expecting to finish third,” she said of her finals performance. “At the beginning of the season, I ran very well. I was hoping to go for first or second in the 200, but my body wasn’t feeling good after the 100 and I wasn’t feeling good mentally either, so I’m just happy that I placed where I did, because it’s obviously an improvement from the past few years.”

As a sophomore, Gray finished seventh in the 100.

“I definitely saw improvements in my confidence and obviously my times,” she said of her season. “I think I’ve gotten stronger in the weight room and I think I’ve also gotten stronger mentally, but so have my opponents, so that’s always a challenge.”

Gray also ran the anchor leg on the 4x100 relay team that finished fifth.